up in the air
by shiksa goddess
Summary: "so, uh, what are you waiting for?"/ or, Austin and Ally get a bit damaged. Auslly


**Title: up in the air  
>Inspiration: You Found Me- The Fray, I'm Falling Even More in Love With You- Lifehouse, Kiss Me Slowly- Parachute, Crashing Down- Mat Kearney<br>Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. And also if I accidentally used a real phone number, sorry. (you'll see)**

Some days, though he'd never say it aloud, he wonders if this is what he's meant to do. If he's good enough.

Then he steps onto the stage, the crowd, big or small, calling his name, and he just _knows._

Sometimes, he guesses, though he'd never tell her-not yet, anyways- that he is meant for Ally, and Ally is meant for him.

Always, the fear creeps into the back of his mind, that neither his career nor Ally would be his forever.

Maybe they aren't even his now.

/

The first time Austin takes her out on what he tentatively calls a "date" and Ally calls an "outing", because neither of them had ever been good with titles, he ends up with spaghetti in every article of clothing he has on.

Yes, _every._

He very suddenly finds himself sympathetic towards the characters on sitcoms he'd every so often see in situations similar to these.

Realization hits when he hears Ally's tinkling laugh. It sounds like bells, which reminds him of Christmas, which is his favorite holiday, and it reminds him of cinnamon and sugar and warmth and home.

This, he figures, is what his perfect girl would be like.

He doesn't even care, at least not much, that there is spaghetti squished between his toes, while Ally's lasagna is cut into neat little bite-size squares, but she seems happy and therefore, he's happy.

It's kind of hard to ignore the wet, saucy noodles between his toes though. It's really quite gross.

/

He's not scared of driving at night. He's an excellent driver, if he does say so himself, especially for being nineteen. Ally's not scared of him driving at night, either. He's cool, calm, and collected, and an excellent parallel parker. He's driven her home plenty of times, and she felt safe. Probably even safer than if she'd been driving herself home, a bundle of nerves, jittery because of what she couldn't see in the dark.

It may've been a justifiable fear, he realizes that night.  
>After all, Ally's normally right.<p>

Because no matter how good a driver he is, there are other, not as capable drivers. That can't see in the night.

This isn't a good ending to a first date.

/

The first thing he thinks of when he comes back to consciousness, is Ally_._

He lay on a gurney himself, and the loud, blaring sirens fill his ears. He tries to sit up, but a sharp pain in his side prevents that.

Two young EMT's rush to his aid. "Sir, sir, you can't sit up. Just stay down."

He struggles with this forced temporary paralysis, but in the end, he gives up. It's easier just to lie there.

"Where's Ally?" He panics. He twists his head, until he spots the young brunette, unconscious, body mostly covered by a sheet. A plastic ventilator covers her mouth, and blood cakes the area of her face that he can see.

"Ally? Who's Ally? Is it your sister? Is it the girl in the car with you?" The first EMT asks dumbly. His counterpart rolls her eyes at her fumbling coworker. She motions for him to sit down as she walks closer to Austin.

"We have to ask you to calm down, sir. What is your name?"

There's sharp pain, all over his body now and not just his side. It feels like large, sharp pieces of plastic are passing through his skin, while more pieces stab _into _his skin. Teeth clenched, he says "Austin Moon."

It's then he realizes his voice. It's raspy, small, and he can barely even hear it.

"What?"

"Austin Moon!" He whisper-yells.

Okay, Mr. Moon, we're calling your parents. Are you under the age of eighteen?"

The one female EMT is asking the questions, the other is steadying the gurneys, as well as standing by to sedate Austin if he tries anything that could hurt anyone.

Austin merely shakes his head. He doesn't really want to talk anymore.

The woman nods. "And, the female? You know her, right?"

_No shit, _ he thinks, but he nods, hot tears slipping out of his eyes. He's so confused.  
>"That's Allyson Dawson, she's nineteen as well as me. Her father is Lester Dawson, owner of the Sonic Boom music shop in the Miami Mall. The number there is 813 678 0987. Her dad's cell is 813 546 7678."<br>He rattles off Ally's information quicker than his own, because he knows it like the back of his hand and he cares about her far more than himself right now.

The steadying paramedic records it to call Ally's father as soon as they get to the hospital.

"What happened?" Austin rasps weakly.

"There was a car accident, Austin. A drunken truck driver hit you and Miss Dawson, on the passenger's side. Your car turned over, and a witness in a nearby car called 911 and stayed at the scene until they arrived. The truck driver, he's okay, and being dealt with by the police. You and Allyson, however, are severely injured. It may be worse than we can see, we'll need to scan you both at the hospital to find out. " The EMT explains.  
>He probably wasn't even supposed to know so much yet, but Austin was heartbroken but happy that it was given.<p>

"Okay, so I'm conscious, but Ally, how is she?" He turns back towards his friend.

"She's breathing, and she's got a steady pulse, but that's almost all she's got going for." The EMT explains forlornly.

"It was her side that the truck hit." the EMT says, though his coworker is mouthing to him to stop explaining the details.

Austin nodded. He didn't know what to do besides swallow hard and focus on the ride, not Ally or the pain pulsing through his body.

They get to the hospital, and all Austin can see is _brightwhitelight_. Not, like, the pathways to Heaven being revealed to him, because he wasn't that far gone, and he was pretty sure Heaven wasn't full of doctors and the smell of latex gloves, but instead huge fluorescent lights that burned his retinas.

People in scrubs wheel him and Ally through medicine-scented halls, into large rooms with big x-ray scanner machines that Austin didn't know the proper term for.

Hours pass, and Austin and Ally are injected with fluids he's not sure what are.  
>The doctors don't talk to him like the paramedics did, but he's a little too scared to hold up a conversation, anyways.<p>

He's taken to the large scanner as Ally's gurney is wheeled to another room. They lay him on the CT Scan bed.

"Keep still, and don't move, under any circumstances."

He stays in a plank position for what seems like hours. His eyes are filled with more _brightwhitelight._

After what felt like days, he is released from his metal confine. Someone helps him move from a gurney to a more comfortable hospital bed. The still-unconscious Ally is wheeled in soon after, but she is poked and prodded with an IV. He sees her pulse being monitored. It seems steady, and he can see her chest rise and fall beneath the cheap green polka-dot material of the hospital gown she wore, but she seemed so frail.

_I love you_. He thinks to her, hoping that somewhere in her subconscious, the message would be delivered.

He didn't realize just how tired he was until now. Until his scan results come in, he leaves Ally under the nurses' watchful eye, and drifts off to sleep.

/

He wakes in an hour that feels like morning, but in fact is in the dead of night. He is informed that his mother called, she wants to know that he's okay, which he's not, exactly, and she will be there in the morning, when visiting hours start.

Austin smiles. He knows how worried his mother must be. She was always a little paranoid towards her youngest son. But at least he was awake, he thinks. He wonders just how Mr. Dawson must feel, not knowing when his only child-only _family_, really- would wake up.

Or _if_ she'd wake up. Austin shook his head. He wouldn't let dangerous thoughts like that cross his mind anymore.

A handsome black doctor walks into the room. "Oh, good, you're up." He smiles at the teenager.

"Though i'm not sure why you'd want to be awake at such an ungodly hour." he remarks lightly, trying to break the tension in the air.

Austin merely nods toward his partner in the next bed. The doctor's eyes light up in realization.

"Oh.." He draws out the word. "Your girlfriend?"

Austin almost nods, then hesitates. Shaking his head, he replies.  
>"No. just a friend. Well, my best . Sorta. Ugh, I don't know. We were on our first date." He reveals hoarsely.<p>

The doctor lets out a deep chuckle. "Well, young man, that was one hell of a way to end it."

Austin laughs too, in spite of it all. "Right?"

The doctor smiles, then lets it fade. His friendly, dark brown eyes suddenly turn stormy.

"Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm afraid your injuries aren't as minor as we may've hoped."

Austin furrows his blonde brow. "What do you mean, doc?"

The doctor sits down carefully on the edge of Austin's bed. "I mean, aside from these cuts all over your skin, there's been some complications. Two of your ribs are cracked, which is painful, but not unmendable, you've got a broken leg, and there is a tear in one of your capillaries. It's leaking blood at a slow but harmful rate. Fortunately, there is a fairly simple surgical procedure to stop it, but it comes at a price. It could permanently damage your vocal chords. You may never regain the whole of your voice back."

Austin's eyes widen. "What?" he whisper-screams. "But I'm a singer. That's, like, my whole career!"

"I'm sorry, Austin, but-"

"And how does that even work?" Austin interrupts. " How does a torn capillary relate to my vocal chords?"

"It's a very complicated explanation, Mr Moon.."

" I don't want this surgery!" Austin exclaims stubbornly.

The doctor looks sternly at the teenager. "There's not really a choice, Austin. It's a life-saving surgery. You either take the surgery, or you die. "

"Then I'll die. I don't want to live if I can't sing."

The doctor looks at Austin condescendingly, heading to the door. "I'm sure you've got other things to live for." He says cryptically but crisply, glancing towards Ally in her bed before spinning on his heel and walking out.

"The surgery will be done in the morning."

With that, Austin watches the doctor's coat flare out in the wind from the ceiling fan and listens to his rubber soles creating squeaking noises against the dulling linoleum floor.

Austin threw his head against the pillow, a mistake, he realized as pain flared up in his neck.

Sighing, he looked towards Ally again as he drifted off into sleep once more.

/

"Count to twenty, or sing the alphabet." the anesthesiologist commands him soothingly, sticking the sterile needle connected to the fluid that would knock him out soon into his arm.

"a...b...c...d...e...f...g...h...i...j...k...l...m...n...o...p...q...r...s...t...u...v...w...x..."

And he's out like a light. Mrs Moon sat in the waiting room, tears pooling in her eyes. She'd had to part with her son after hurried "I love you's" and "I'll be fine, stop worrying's" had ensued this morning before he went into the OR.

He doesn't remember the surgery, of course, but he remembers coming to. An IV identical to Ally's is pinned to his arm, white gauze covering at least a third of his body.

"Nod if you can hear me." The familiar anesthesiologist says smoothly, the tips of her dark brown hair lightly brushing the white sheets of Austin's bed.

He slowly nods, opening his mouth to speak. The pretty young doctor quickly silences him with a frantic wave of hand.

"Don't speak. You're not going to be able to speak for a while. We need to see if your voice has a quick recovery process, if you're ever going to regain it."

Worry fills Austin's mind. He feels like Ally, always frantic and on-edge.  
>He instantly wonders how his other half is doing, but is struck back into his own reality by the doctor's words. Everyone made it sound like he was going to end up mute for the rest of his life.<p>

"If you have anything to say, write it on this."She sets a clipboard with an attached pen on the table connected to his hospital bed.

He tries to grab for it, but finds that his arm has little strength.

"You may want to wait a little while until you try any sudden movements. You _were_ just in surgery." She reminds him.

The anesthesiologist walks out of the room, and a shaken Mrs Moon enters.

"Oh, Austin!" she sighs, melodramatic and overreacting as usual, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't happy to see her.

She ran over to hug her son, sobbing into his pillow. "oh, _Austin_." she repeated. "I thought I'd never see you again.

Austin gives his mother a skeptical look, and she laughs. "Oh, alright. I knew you'd be fine. But I _was_ worried about you, baby, that's for sure. And when they find out who it was that ran into my baby- oh, and Ally, she's like a daughter to me as well, how is she?- we will take them to court and make them _pay."_

Mrs. Moon was a lawyer, and a good one at that. She knew what she wanted, and she got it. But Austin was pretty sure she could've been an actress, with her numerous cases of melodrama.

Austin motioned towards his neck and then towards the clipboard. His mother nodded and handed it over.

"Ally is unconscious." She read off. Her lips pursed into an 'o'. "Oh my God, her poor father. I'll send over a floral bouquet to their quaint little music shop. "

Austin rolled his eyes.

"I don't think a bouquet would help, Mom." She read.

"Well, I suppose you're right. Maybe I'll go speak to him personally. Or maybe I'll send him a muffin basket! Well, i've got to get going, dear, or the nurses are going to throw me out!" She laughs.

His mother gives him one last kiss on the cheek before scurrying out of the room.

\\

They move him back into the room with Ally, who has had at least one unknown (to him, anyways) surgery herself. He feels bad. he feels like he owes Allyto be in this hospital just as long as her. He'd been the one driving, after all. But Ally's got all those severe injuries and all he's got is a few broken limbs and a shattered career.

When he awakes the next day, there's sunlight streaming through the wide hospital room windows and it's blinding him. He can faintly hear a deep male voice, one he recognizes as Mr Dawson's.

"_You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy, when skies are grey."_ Mr Dawson sings a cheerful, whistle-y tune that makes Austin's soul feel a little brighter, except he knows Ally can't really hear it.

'Remember that, Ally-cat?" Austin laughs at the pet name. Lester's eyes flit over towards Austin's side of the room, so he quickly shuts his eyes and pretends to still be sound asleep.

"That was your favorite song when you were little. Every time you were sad, your mother or I would sing it to you, and by the last line, you'd be cheery and singing right along with us."

Austin wonders who Lester has to depend on. Ally? It simply wasn't fair to either Dawson to put all your faith in your teenage daughter. But Ally's mom was gone, so maybe it was justifiable.

"When…if you do go.." Austin hears Mr. Dawson pause to clear his throat, and he realizes that Lester probably believes that Ally's really going.  
>"Tell your mom hi for me, all right? I miss her terribly. I'll miss you,too."<p>

And with that, Austin cries a little bit.

"_You'll never know dear, how much I love you._"

Mr Dawson's clear, steady voice is suddenly overwhelmed by tears.

Austin observes his eyes, watching ally, then watching the heart monitor, making sure her pulse was steady and not faltering.

"_So don't take, my sunshine away._"

/

The next day Austin wakes up, the world is instantly brighter, before he even knows why. He wakes up and hears laughter.

"Austin!"

The voice is almost unfamiliar, as she's been asleep for what's now been the better part of a week. He whips his head around- a mistake, it instantaneously erupts in shooting pain spreading down the length of his spine.

"Omigod, Ally!" Austin rasps his first words in days, attempting to jump out of bed before he realizes that he's connected to about five machines that are not only quite possibly vital to his health, but would probably cost millions of dollars to replace if he were to knock them over. Millions he certainly did not have. Ally laughs, and he realizes that it is now his favorite sound in the whole world, while he untangles himself from the mess of cords.

Dragging his numerous poles with him, Austin pads his way to Ally's bed. It feels strenuous, though her bed is only a few feet away.

She holds out her arms, which he easily melts into, holding her near to him as if when he let go, she'd die.

When he finally does let go, he notices all of Ally's braces and casts. Grabbing his clipboard, Austin wrote quickly "What's wrong with you?"

It sounds a little derogatory, but he figures she'd realize what he means.

"Oh. I've got six broken limbs, but they also think I might have brain damage." She says, her bright tone seeming a bit distant and melancholic, not an unusual mood for ally, but the severity was higher now.

"What about you? Why are you talking through a clipboard?"

He scribbles. "I've got three broken parts and my capillary tore, which somehow affects my vocal chords."

Ally knits her eyebrows. "That doesn't seem anatomically correct, but whatever, they're the doctors." 

Austin nods. "It's just nice to hear your voice," he writes on the almost-full paper.

"It's nice to see you, Austin. By the way, what's that?" She points to a doodle on his paper, where in his messy block script, he'd scribbled "I LOVE ALLY DAWSON" followed by an uneven heart.

Hey, a boy gets bored sitting around a hospital all day!

Austin smiles, and he can tell from her reaction that he shouldn't be embarrassed.

"The truth," he writes, and her eyes light up once more.

/

The word "discharge" sounds like "manumission" to Austin and Ally. Even though they of course are not slaves.  
>With their release comes their first sense of the hot Miami sun beating down on their skin since what seems like forever, their first drop of sunlight at all, really. Real, pure sunlight, not filtered like what came through the window.<p>

It also came with adjusting to the smells and sounds of the outdoors, not just medicine and sterilization and the footsteps of nurses and steady _BEEP_'s of their IV's.

Nurses wheel them out in wheelchairs, their respective parents right beside them, and as they get closer and closer to the end of the hospital hallways, she looks towards him as if she's scared of the outside. He mouths "it's okay" to her and holds out his hand.

She takes Austin's hand in her own, and her heartbeat is comparable to the sound of a metronome, counting the seconds until they're outside.

The sunlight hits her first. it feels warm and familiar, but foreign at the same time.

"How does it feel, Alls?" her father asks.

"It feels...good." She hesitates, but eventually looks up towards her father, squinting in the light, to smile and confirm her content.

"It does." Austin seconds, sliding on a pair of aviator sunglasses. Ally almost laughs. Typical Austin.

Austin's voice sounds meek and feeble, not nearly as deep as it once was.

He claims he's accepted it, but Ally knows it's hurting him, and he's latched himself onto the minute chance that he'll ever get his voice completely back.

And she knows it's hurting him to see her hurt, much like it's hurting her to see him. On a purely selfish level, his career was essentially her career, too. But, first and foremost, he's her best friend. Music and singing were two of the most important things in his life.

Alongside her, of course.

Her dad wheels her to their old Chevy truck, looking very foolish next to Ms Moon's sleek Jaguar.

As she and Austin get into their respective cars, Ally realizes that she doesn't want to leave him. She's seen him every day, 24/7 for the past two weeks, even in the bed next to him.

She hasn't really thought about how much the inevitable separation will affect her, but now that she's faced with it, she realizes she just can't do it.

"Dad, I'm not ready to not see Austin yet." She whispers.

Lester sighs. "It's already been taken care of, Alls. I'm not stupid and neither is Austin's mother. We know adjusting to life is going to be hard, so we've already planned sort of a 'welcome home' reunion sleepover at the Sonic Boom for you, Austin, Trish, and Dez."

"Thank you." is all she says. She's not sure whether to be elated that she doesn't have to let go just yet, or disappointed that her other two best friends are coming.

But she'll go for the first one. At least, that's what she'll tell everyone.

/

This is one of those things that she sort of wishes she could forget.  
>Along with the torn ligaments and broken bones that have left her in multiple casts and a wheelchair, temporarily, Ally had a minor case of brain damage. The only symptom they said she'd have for sure was a minor case of <em>anterograde amnesia<em>. It sounds lovely, like a palace fit for a princess, but instead it's an illness (she doesn't like the word _disease_, it makes people think they can catch it and therefore avoid her) that causes her the loss of being able to make memories. That's horrible for her, only nineteen and a chance that some of her best memories could be lost forever, when they're still yet to be made.

"I need you with me, Austin." She says to him privately, as Dez and Trish attempt to get over their hatred for _Zaliens VII_.

He smiles and grabs a slice of pizza from the box, wincing in pain as the binding on his ribs shifted.

"I'm right here, Alls." he rasps, placing an arm around her tiny shoulders.

"No, I mean forever." She says it with so much force and sincerity, he's compelled to put his pizza down and give her his undivided attention.

"Ally, I will be by your side _forever_ and beyond. We're better together, remember?"

He grabs her hand and squeezes it gently, like a pulse, squeezing the life back into her.

"No, I mean I _need_ you with me, Austin. What if I eventually forget who I am? Who's going to remind me of myself? You're the only person that knows me as well as I know myself, if not better."

She's almost crying now, so Austin wraps both of his arms around her, trying to be sensitive to her injuries. They're on the floor now, so her wheelchair isn't a barrier.

He pulls her head to his wounded chest and lets her cry. _Zaliens VII_ ends and Dez and Trish walk over to Austin and Ally's area of the practice room.

"Are we interrupting something?" Trish asks hesitantly. Dez waits patiently behind her.

"No, no. ally's just sort of...releasing." Austin feebly explains.

"Okay, well, we're going to go to bed. " Trish motions towards the sleeping bags spread sporadically throughout the floor.

"'Night," Austin yawns, distracted by Ally's crying. He strokes her hair.

"If she keeps crying, show her a picture of a bunny. It seems to make people happier." Dez shares, half trying to lighten the mood, half out of pure stupidity.

"Uhh...will do."

Trish smacks her best friend on the arm. "You're an-"

"Elephant-tractor-pineapple?" Dez bites his knuckles in his anticipation to see if he was right.

Trish wants to insult him, but then sees Ally crying on the floor and stops, for her friend's sake. "Yes. That."

She sits down on her sleeping bag, in the middle of Ally's and Dez's.

"When are those two going to just get together already? They're obviously in love."

"Eh, don't rush it. Ally doesn't like rushing into things, and Austin would never do anything Ally doesn't want, y'know?"

Trish stared in awe. "When did you become insightful?"

"When did you become sensitive to your friends' feelings?"

Trish smiled. "Touche." And then she fell asleep.

"I hope you know I love you." Ally said, still lying in Austin's lap, tears starting to subside.

"I love you, too." He wasn't sure if she meant platonically or romantically, and he didn't know what he meant either. Either way, it was true.

Her eyes still bloodshot, Ally propped herself up to meet Austin's eyes.

"You know," She smiled flirtatiously. "We never did get to finish our date…" She let the sentence linger as she locked her eyes with his.

It was about as forward as Ally Dawson would ever get, so Austin wasn't about to let the moment pass.

"Well then." Austin chuckled. "What are we waiting for?" He pulled Ally in and kissed her.

And yes, it _was_ cliche, thank you very much, but he felt something click, kissing Ally, just being with Ally in general.

"Thanks for walking me home." Ally joked as they broke apart.

He took his new girlfriends' hand. "Oh, my pleasure."

There were traumatic things that Ally wished she forgot.  
>But this, she realized, was something she hoped she'd remember always.<p>

/

Sometimes, he lay in his bed, which was pushed up against the window, and looked up at the stars.

He wondered how he got so lucky to be with Ally. And then his ribs would hurt. And then his leg would hurt. And it got really annoying.

So he'd close his eyes for a brief second, and had one of two images flashing behind his eyes-Ally, or performing on a huge stage in front of a huge crowd.

Only one of those things was reality now. He could never sing in front of a crowd again, which was something he'd only really consider when he was alone.

To the outside world, he was completely confident that he'd fully recover and that this gravelly, horrible voice he had now was simply temporary, a healing process. Though the chances of that happening were slim to none.

But maybe he was a slim-to-none person! There was a slim-to-none chance of him being an internet sensation, and a slim-to-none chance of him meeting his forever soul mate at fifteen, but both of those things happened. Austin moon was evidently a miraculous type of person.

He was only nineteen, right? He had the rest of his life to figure out what he wanted to do, and as soon as his stupid ribs and leg healed, he could set about figuring that out. He'd already sacrificed a year-now two, or at least one and a half of doing something that would prepare him for the future, or a year that he could've been in college, and Ally, too, as she had basically given it up for him.

He remembered just how ecstatic she'd been when she got her stack of acceptance letters (she automatically threw out the rejections, claiming she didn't need to bother herself with negativity), but all of them were hours away from Florida. So she took one look at Austin, decided she couldn't leave, and sacrificed things she'd dreamt of for years for a boy, signing up for the Miami Dade County Community College instead.

"It's okay." She smiled, throwing the letters in the trash. She knew her dad would be disappointed, but she was eighteen, she could make her own decisions.

But it _wasn't_okay. If she had gone away, they wouldn't have gone on that date, and they wouldn't have gotten in the accident, Ally wouldn't have goddamn _brain damage_ and he would have a career.

But if she'd left, he wouldn't have his songwriter, he wouldn't have his best friend, and he wouldn't have his girlfriend. Which sounded like such a juvenile term for what Ally was to him.

He wouldn't have _home._

/

The one thing he couldn't-or wouldn't- deal with, was that Ally was okay with all of this. She didn't blame him for the brain damage, the broken limbs, she didn't blame him for anything.

He knew it wasn't really his fault. He wasn't the drunk driver, he didn't know who _that_ was, maybe he never would. But whenever he saw her, now on crutches, he just couldn't help but feel guilty.

/

The last thing she remembered before the accident was, besides the black and sound of shattering glass, Austin. Yes, that date had been so incredibly awkward. But it also became somewhat of an epiphany, or maybe a catalyst.  
>It was a realization, that maybe, just maybe, she could see herself falling in love with this man.<p>

She wanted to tell him, but honestly, Ally Dawson was not good with sharing her feelings. She, at one point, felt like she was the only female that wasn't very "in touch" with their inner feelings, even though she wasn't.  
>The only embodiment of Ally Dawson's "inner self" was in her songs, and she wasn't about to write a whole song for Austin just to tell him she enjoyed the date. That would be completely wrong and weird.<p>

Not that she would've gotten the chance to, anyways.

The world was fuzzy, opening her eyes to the harsh hospital lights, she really had to get her bearings. The irony of it though, was that the first thing she saw was Austin. She had actually laughed.

(He was cute when he was sleeping, she'd always thought. Not that she would admit that.

She supposes he's cute any moment of the day. Though, like most any hormonal nineteen year old girl, she had a special appreciation for her boyfriend shirtless. Man, he was hot.

(Taylor Lautner who?)

Anyways, she saw him. And she realized, then and there, that she could spend a lifetime waking up to him next to her. Though preferably in the same bed and not a hospital one.

She has to admit, it was a little scary, to wake up in that hospital, not knowing why.

She was a little on-edge, and she did forget. For a moment, she'd forgotten her name, where she was, but she knew that was Austin. She remembered him.

She knew she was safe.

/

He finds an odd infatuation with the movie _Up In the Air._ He never thought he'd find himself relating to a movie, nor hating George Clooney so much.

His and Ally's movie night selections quickly go from any random horror flick to that one movie.

"Again?" Ally moans.

"Yes, again. And anyways, you know you think George Clooney is hot, so shush."

He pops the movie into the Dawson's DVD player. Ally often falls asleep before the ending, either way, so what does it matter to her?

/

When he looks at her, he wants to fix her. He just wants everything to be okay with her again.

Sometimes she'll forget something he said on yesterday's date, and he knows he has to be okay with it, but he still can't help but place the blame on himself.

She'll just be writing a song, sitting at the piano, and he'll watch from the doorway, again, and that's the epitome of Austin and Ally. He doesn't know how many times they've been in this situation, but it's them.

Suddenly, her face will go blank, and she'll crinkle her brow, and he'll rush over, and she closes the songbook and sinks into the bench.

"You're beautiful, Ally. Remember that."

She nods. She's just having an off day, that's all. It's just one of those days where a small blow could knock her over the edge.

/ 

He's kind of shocked, he must admit. Out of the four years (that feels like a lifetime) that he's known her, he's never actually seen her just.. _break down_ like this.

She sobs into his shirt, and she realizes just how comfortable this is. She knows his scent- a mix of Bounce laundry detergent and Drakkar Noir cologne- like the back of her hand.  
>Or something else familiar, like the Sonic Boom, because in all honesty, she doesn't really study the backs of her hands.<p>

She realizes it's because, first and foremost, he's her best friend. He still is her best friend.  
>Just a best friend that she could hold hands with and make out with.<p>

Just like home.

/

Yeah, he's seriously worried about his career now. His slim-to-none persona is fading fast. It's been six months since they got out of the hospital-and it's Ally's twentieth birthday- and his voice is still feeble.

"La, la ,la, la, la ,la ,la" he tries a scale, but it sounds, admittedly, terrible. he turns back around towards the birthday girl, whose smile is falsely enthusiastic, and she's evidently attempting not to cringe.

"I can't do it, Ally. It's over."

She thinks it, too.

"No, Austin, it's not over just like that. I mean, you've been working towards this, I'm sure you could get vocal lessons or something to help.."

"I don't want that, Ally. This whole thing is just done. I'm done with being a singer."

He tries to walk downstairs to where the celebration is, but Ally grabs his shoulders. Well, tries to grabs his shoulders. He's significantly taller.

"Hey. You can't throw in the towel yet, Austin Moon. You're so much better than that."

He sighs. "But, Ally, you don't understand-"

"I don't understand _what_? What it's like to lose something? Because, I beg to differ! I may never remember half the things that go on in my life from now on. What if I forget my wedding day? The birth of my child? Austin, you cannot give up. You know why? Because most of the memories I have right now are fucking _terrible._ I'm desperately clinging to the good things I still remember. And I'm going to need those memories, Austin!"

They both stand there, stunned to silence for a moment. Ally runs a hand through her hair before continuing.

"This isn't just your dreams you're sacrificing here, Austin. It's mine, it's yours, it's Dez's. It's the only job Trish ever really worked at-"

"Trish can get another job. She does it, like, daily. Dez is laid-back, he's not depending on me to live out his dreams. Didn't you know he's directing a short film now?  
>And you, Ally, you're <em>so<em>talented. You could make it anywhere. Hell, Taylor Swift would probably hire you as a songwriter, and we all know how brilliant a lyricist she is. "

Ally takes Austin's hand. "Austi, I only made any impact on the music world because of you. We're in it together, and I'm not going to try and live my dreams if you can't live yours."

Austin shook his head. "I can't let you sacrifice anything for me anymore. You gave up college, Ally, hell, you gave up Julliard. And don't tell me it didn't matter to you because I know you better than that. You need to do something for you, for once."

Ally's lip quivers. "No." Her look says it all: she wouldn't leave him.

Austin peeked at the clock. "It's almost three. Your party's already in full swing."

She looked over at him. "This isn't over."

/

As her last managerial duty, probably ever, Trish delivers a press statement.

"Due to recent severe injuries, " She's kind of choked up, which, turns out is a rare thing for any of them. Except Dez. God knows why.

"Austin Moon will not be returning to his singing career. He is very grateful for all of your help and support over the years, but this is necessary to his health."

She leaves the podium amiss a large amount of screaming and confusion.

She breaks down as soon as she gets backstage, where Austin, Dez, and Ally are waiting.

"That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my whole life." She whispers, looking at her trio of friends with tears in her eyes. Ally gives her a quick hug, Austin whispers words of gratitude and awkwardly pats her on the back, and Dez takes her in his arms and lets her cry, stroking her hair, much like Austin did for Ally.

Ally smiled at Austin and Austin smiled at Ally. The system worked.

Unfortunately, questions still arose as to why Austin would just abruptly quit. Some said he got a girl pregnant (which Ally, as expected, got pissed off about), some said he died. (Which pissed Austin off.)

Someone, God knows who or why, posed the question, "What about Ally?"

Hell broke loose, to say the least. Rumors about her existence were spread, too, such as her being the mother of Austin's child (which relieved and disgusted her at the same time), and people, important people, wanted to contact the duo, claiming their resignation from the music industry to be a "utter waste of pure talent".

A label exec contacted Trish, and she had to swallow and do the _second_ most difficult thing she'd ever done.

"No, Austin isn't available to sing, or record anymore. Damage was done to his vocal chords." she'd respond evasively. It killed Austin, too, seeing everything he'd ever wanted held in front of him in his reach, then being dropped and shattering.

"What about Ally? Well...what about Ally?"

Ally was never good with impulse decisions. She was a planner, and she knew a decision would have to be made, a decision she didn't know _how_ to make.

"Hello, Mr Reid? Hi, yes, this is Ally Dawson."

Silence follows.

"How would I feel about moving out to LA and becoming a professional songwriter?" Everyone in the group's eyes widen. Four years ago, Ally wouldn't have hesitated, because she knew Austin would be coming along.

Now, she didn't know.

"Umm, could I have a day to think about this? It's kind of a big decision."

"Yeah, okay. Two o' clock tomorrow afternoon. Will do. Thank you, Mr Reid. Goodbye."

She hung up and handed the phone back to Trish, who, like the rest, stood in shock and silence.

"Well?" Ally yelled. "Should I take it?"

She looked at Dez, who energetically nodded. Trish looked at her friend intently, locking eyes, and nodding.

Finally, she looked at Austin. He just grabbed her and wrapped her in his arms. He leaned down, letting his lips graze her ear, before whispering

"Go."

Tears filled her eyes. Her decision had been made.

She took the phone from Trish and called Mr Reid back.

"Hello, Mr Reid? It's Ally Dawson. I've made my decision. I'll take it."

"Yeah, okay. Thank you very much. See you Tuesday."

Her eyes shining, Ally looked up at the best friends she had ever known.

"Okay, so who wants to help me pack?"

/

He leaves her at the airport, just him, Ally, and her luggage. She'd said her goodbyes to her father, Trish, and Dez earlier that morning. Those had been hard enough. She just avoided saying anything the whole trip to the airport, because this goodbye was going to be excruciating.

At 7:56 am, exactly two hours and four minutes until her flight was scheduled to depart, Austin pulled into a parking spot in the lot.

" I- I can't do this, Austin. I can't say goodbye to you. Come with me. I need you with me."

He wraps his arms around her. "You're gonna be great, Alls, but I'm not part of that."

She clutches at his chest. "You said you'd stay with me forever."

He chuckles. "I will always be here when you need me. I'm not leaving, Ally."

She lets go so she can look forward out the windshield and not at him.

"So what does this make us?"

He's jolted by the question. He supposes he hasn't really thought about it.

"Well, do you want us to be together?"

She takes his hand. "Of course I do. You're the only person I'd ever want to be with."

God damn it, this was even harder than she'd thought it'd be.

"But if you're not coming with me… I don't think I could handle that. But we'll always be best friends."

(They're not really good with titles.)

He nods. "That seems appropriate."

She opens the car door, hugging him and sobbing into his chest, and his stoic façade starts to crack. But he has to pretend he's okay, or else he knows she won't go.

"This is so hard!" She cries, and he nods in agreement.

It's 8:30 when she peels away. "I'm going to miss you so much." She whispers.

He kisses her one last time. "I'll see you soon, Alls."

"I love you, Austin Moon."

"I love you squared, Ally Dawson."

She closes the door after getting her bags. He cracks the window.

"Hey, Ally?"

She whips around. "Yes?"

"Remember me." He laughs, only half-joking.

She smirks. "As if I could forget _you._"

She walks away, her heart as heavy as her bags. The heartbroken smile he's trying to uphold isn't exactly helping, either.

An hour and a half later, Austin moon is still in that parking lot.

Many planes are rushing past over his head, and he cries.

Because somewhere, on one of those planes, is Ally Dawson, flying away from everything she'd ever known and cherished.

And somewhere up there, with her, was Austin Moon's heart.

/

He gets a part-time job at Macy's, and he while he's able to plaster on a fake "I'm here to help!" employee smile and hold down a job in general- at least better than Trish can- it's blatantly obvious that Austin Moon is not cut out for retail.

Trish has to congratulate him, though. She's genuinely happy for him, as well as the fact that everyone is sort of dancing delicately around his feelings.

He's employee of the month in two weeks of employment, which he and everyone he tells finds extremely ironic.  
>He's just so darn charismatic, customers are charmed by him, of course he's extraordinary, especially in comparison to the elderly women who just barely have the stamina to get out of bed and go to work, let alone be friendly and peppy to the customers.<p>

Some of them recognize him as _Austin Moon_, the internet sensation, which is an identity he feels so detached from now, even though in actuality it wasn't that long ago that it was who he was.

"So, you're famous. Why are you working here?"

His voice says it all, literally.

"Health crisis." And they nod like they understand what it's like to get up and abandon the one dream you'd had your whole life.

His picture is mounted up on the wall in the break room, right next to the coffeemaker.

When he goes to get some coffee, he realizes they're both stale.

Sometimes she calls. Sometimes she doesn't.  
>He knows he should be moving on, exploring the world, like he imagines she is, but something along the lines of "<em>what if she comes back<em>?" keeps him here.

"How are you today, Austin?" a regular shopper, Andy, asks him. Andy is an elderly man who comes in weekly to buy his numerous grandchildren various presents.

"I'm fine, Andy, how are you?" he places a Barbie playset in a red and white Macy's bag.

Andy swipes his credit card. "Don't lie to me, boy, I've got lie detectors in my eyes."

Austin's not sure what that means, exactly, but yeah, it sounds pretty intimidating.

"You got a girl?" he asks gruffly.

Austin nods, then shakes his head. "Yeah. I mean, no, it's...complicated. She's pursuing a career in LA and we kind of...broke up. In a way."

He smiles a bit, remembering that time, about a year ago, that he had this same conversation with his doctor.

What propelled him to spill his life story to a virtual stranger, Austin would never know.

Andy smiled pitifully at the kid. He sort of saw himself, or what he used to be, in the cashier.

"And you're stuck here?" He half-smiled.

"Yeah."

Andy took his bag of merchandise from Austin.

"Well then, what are you waiting for?"

And with that, he left, before Austin could get another word in.

But maybe it was good, because he really didn't have an answer, anyways.

/

He finds himself back at the Sonic Boom, where it all started.

Lester had always adored Austin, even though he wouldn't say it. So when the forlorn boy walked into the store one day, just to get something he left in the now vacant and lifeless practice room, obviously unhappy with his life, Mr Dawson offered him a job.

"Hey, uh, Austin. You know I'm getting older, and Ally always helped me around the store, but since she's in LA... would you like to work here?"

It seemed almost _too_ ironic, to work here and take over Ally's position, but he _was_ one of the few people that knew this place backwards and forwards.

"Um, you know Mr Dawson, I might just take you up on that."

/

He wouldn't have recognized Nelson if he hadn't asked his name.

The now-fourteen-year-old was now adorkably handsome, with disheveled curls and the same coke-bottle glasses.

"Where's ally?" He asked the question that Austin always feared would come up from anyone who'd ever known _Austin&Ally_.

Austin put the resin blocks and drumsticks in a "Thanks For Coming" plastic bag- he guesses nelson finally found his niches- and sighed.

"She's in L.A." he says. Nelson is, unsurprisingly, shocked to hear Austin without the over-confident, bubblegum-pop voice.

"Well, uh, why aren't you with her?"

"Well, life happens, Nelson. She had to get on with her life, and I couldn't be the one holding her back anymore."

"You _do_ realize that you're all she's ever really wanted ,right? I could tell when I was nine that she was in love with you. Why would you just let her go?"

Austin's not sure he'd ever gotten such a profound lesson from a fourteen year old.

He sort of hates it, though, because Nelson's kindasortacompletely right.

/

Everyone tells him that he seems _dull_and _unenthusiastic_without Ally. He's actually sort of forgotten what life was like before Ally, which is pretty sad, because he's only known her for five years. He apparently functioned before her, and god damn if he can't function now, without her.

(But it turns out that the whole time he'd thought he was the one bringing out the life in Ally, when she'd been the one bringing it out in _him._)

Being around all this music inspires him. when the store is dead and empty, he'll sit and play the drums, or sometimes, he'll work up the courage to play Ally's piano, the one they'd sat together on and written so many songs in so many hours of the night, and just _sing_, not caring about who heard him.

"Hello?"

_Shit_.

Austin quickly attempted to get out from the drum kit, but ended up tripping over the bass drum.

Yeah, he wasn't sure how he was going to regain composure after that one.

A professional-looking man smiled at Austin.

"You okay there?" He chuckled.

Austin cleared his throat, trying not to blush. "Yeah, I'm good."

This man looked familiar, he knew that face, he just couldn't place it.

"Yes, young man, you _are_good."

"Huh?"

"Don't think I didn't just hear you playing. You've still got chops, Austin."

"H-how'd you know my name?"

The man lifted an eyebrow at Austin's tense-ness.

"Well, first of all, it's on your nametag."

Austin looked down, feeling stupid. He was now officially blushing.

"And second of all, you're Austin Moon. People didn't just forget about you, you know."

Austin was a little shocked. His singing career had been over and done a while ago.

"Look, Mr Whoever You Are, if you're looking for Austin Moon, the over-confident kid with huge dreams and an ego to match with a cheesy, pop sound, he's gone. As you may be able to tell, I lost my voice in a car acciden-"

"Save it, kid." the man cut him off. "We've all read the tragic _US Weekly_article."

Well, that was a surprise. He didn't know there'd been a story on him.

"What I wanted to say was, you've got _it_. Your voice is now one of the most unique ones I've ever heard. This may seem a little rushed, but you've probably been waiting for your chance for a while, so, if you'd like, I'm willing to fly you out to L.A. and record a demo with my label. "

"Sir, thank you very much, but i really don't think i'm cut out to be a singer anymore. Besides, I don't write songs. I was only singing songs written by my partner-"

"Ally Dawson? I know, Austin. She works with me. She's a top-notch writer, don't you think? Oh, I guess I never formally introduced myself, sorry. Hi, I'm L.A. Reid, president of Epic Records. "

He stuck out his hand, but Austin was in too much shock to shake it.

"You-Ally- Ally works for you? You mean I'd get to work with her again?"

L.A chuckled. "Yes, Austin. While you may not be her only client anymore, you will always be her favorite. But don't tell Avril I said that, she's taken a fondness to Ally."

This is just moving way too fast for Austin. Ten minutes ago, he'd been playing the drums carelessly, and now, he's being offered what would most likely turn into a major record deal.

"I highly doubt that, sir. And it's still a little crazy, I mean, my voice will never be back to what it was five years ago."

"Look, Austin, I'm not looking for the next Justin Bieber. I'm looking for someone completely unique, and that's what I hear in your sound. And as for Ally, I mean, yeah. Heard any of her latest songs? They're all about you, I can just tell. Heard Avril's _Wish You Were Here?_ It's all about you."

As Austin's mind raced, the question arose again, but he was the only one asking it this time.

What am I waiting for?

"Yeah, Mr Reid, I'd love to come."

/

Mr Dawson, Trish, and Dez say goodbye to the other half of the power duo. There's significantly less sadness in the air this time.

As he hugs them all goodbye, he's got a smile on his face and all he can think is "I'm gonna see Ally again!"

He gets a little scared that maybe things will be too awkward and just so different between them, but remembers the pact they'd made.

_"We will always be best friends._" She said, and Ally wasn't one to go back on her word.

The plane ride to LA is refreshing and nerve wracking and way too long for Austin. He just can't hold himself back.

The first person he sees when he walks into the studio is Ally Dawson. She looks like a bundle of nerves herself, but the moment she sees him, she knows she's home.

He embraces her as if he never wants to let go, because he really doesn't anymore, and she returns the hug. No words are spoken. No words are necessary. Which is really kind of weird, because their whole relationship had started with words.

Everything clicks right back into place, and everyone can see it. Everyone in the studio, including Mr Reid, wants to break down crying, because this is basically how fairytales end.

And he kisses her, like the world depended on it, and they kind of forgot anyone else was around, because in that moment, all she knew was him and all he knew was her.

"Remember me?" he jokes.

"As if I could forget." And she smiles.

He was home.

/

**A/N Okay honestly what the hell am I doing anymore.  
>So, some side notes.<br>I am thirteen. I don't know what I'm talking about when I write stuff like this.  
>Ally's condition is real and such but I made it seem quite lighthearted throughout a lot of this, which I am not proud of, but whatever.<br>Austin's, however, is completely fictionalized as far as I know, and it makes no sense at all, which I think I lampshaded a couple times in the story itself.  
>I AM SO REPETETIVE IT'S RIDICULOUS I MEAN LOOK AT ANY OF MY STORIES. AUGH.<br>I wanted this to be so much better but it turned out like this so guys, I apologize.  
>Plz review plz.<br>(:Tessa**


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